Sales tax holiday on storm supplies starts tomorrow

It is a rare soul outside the field of meteorology who welcomes the onslaught of hurricane season, but Louisianians may soon have reason to smile in the face of that dreaded period beginning June 1.

The state's first tax holiday on storm-related merchandise begins Saturday and goes through Sunday. On those days, shoppers will not have to pay the state sales tax on purchases of generators, flashlights, batteries and other goods deemed necessary to weather a hurricane. Consumers will get a break on items up to $1,500, a savings of $60.

Merchants are stocking their shelves to prepare for what could be a surge of customers looking to gather storm supplies, said Jessica Elliott, director of government affairs for the Louisiana Retailers Association.

"The concept behind it is really more motivating consumers to go out and get prepared," she said. "You don't want those rushes. You have those three days where the storm is being talked about, and everyone is rushing out to the stores."

Louisiana issued its first general tax holiday in December 2005 as a recovery measure three months after Hurricane Katrina. The holiday offered a break on all purchases made during a three-day period. The state kept up the tradition by offering a general tax holiday every August.

"Those are always very successful for retailers," Elliott said.

Storeowners are expecting similar interest for the hurricane-specific holiday this weekend, which the state plans to make a regular occurrence during the final Saturday and Sunday in May. Other states have also declared tax-free periods to prepare for storm season. Florida held a tax holiday for hurricane-related goods last year but has not scheduled such an event this year, according to CCH, a firm that tracks international tax and accounting issues. Virginia will also hold a tax holiday for hurricane-related goods from May 25 to May 31.

Chad Abadie, general manager of the Home Depot on North Carrollton Avenue in New Orleans, said his store has ordered extra storm-related items. He said he expected generators and other pricier items to fly off of the shelves.

Kelly Fox, the human resources manager for the three-store chain of Harry's Ace Hardware, said she did not expect a mad rush this weekend. But she said she hoped customers would take advantage of the tax break as well as other sales instituted for the Memorial Day holiday on Monday.

"There should be a lot of people in the store, but we're not doing anything special for the sales tax holiday," she said, adding that the stores "have done very well with other tax holidays."

Jen DeGregorio can be reached at (504) 826-3495 or jdegregorio@timespicayune.com.